A couple of years ago, Rep. Jim Jordan insisted that Donald Trump’s endorsement is the most powerful expression of political support in the history of the United States. The Ohio Republican’s sentiment echoed the rhetoric the former president has pushed himself for years.

In fact, it was just a few months earlier when Trump declared that his endorsement was “considered by the real pollsters to be the strongest endorsement in U.S. political history.” He added that his record is “almost unblemished.”

Yeah, almost.

In reality, while the former president has long padded his win-loss record with support for GOP incumbents facing little-to-no opposition, creating an exaggerated picture, plenty of Trump-backed candidates have fallen short in recent years — including this year.

A few weeks ago, for example, he backed Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner in the Republicans’ U.S. Senate primary in New Jersey. She lost. Soon after, despite the former president’s confidence in the potency of his support, his choice in Indiana’s lieutenant governor’s race also flopped.

As Politico reported, the news this week was even more dramatic: “Tuesday was a rough primary night for Donald Trump — and he wasn’t even on the ballot.”

Let’s take those contests one at a time:

In Utah, Trump made an unexpected move shortly before Primary Day, throwing his public support behind Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs in the state’s open U.S. Senate race. Rep. John Curtis nevertheless won by roughly 20 points.

In Colorado, the former president endorsed state GOP Chair Dave Williams, who ended up losing to conservative commentator Jeff Crank by roughly 30 points.

In South Carolina, Trump went out of his way to endorse and try to rally support for right-wing pastor Mark Burns, who was competitive in his primary race, but who ended up falling short against Sherri Biggs, an Air National Guard lieutenant colonel who had Gov. Henry McMaster’s support.

It’s worth adding for context that in Utah’s congressional primary, Trump endorsed incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy, and her race remains too close to call, and in last week’s congressional primary in Virginia, the former president backed state Sen. John McGuire, and that contest, which appears to be headed toward a recount, is also too close to call.

In other words, the list of recent failures might yet grow a little longer.

This is not to say that Trump’s endorsement is irrelevant. There’s ample evidence to the contrary. By any fair measure, he remains the dominant force in contemporary Republican politics, and his hits outnumber his misses.

But for the former president, the power of his endorsement is supposed to be — indeed, it must be — the stuff of legend. In 2021, for example, he commented on the Republicans who beg for in-person meetings, where they plead for his electoral support, marveling at his self-professed power.

“We have had so many, and so many are coming in,” Trump said. “It’s been pretty amazing. You see the numbers. They need the endorsement. I don’t say this in a braggadocious way, but if they don’t get the endorsement, they don’t win.”

Except, as we were reminded again this week, that’s not true — which should send a message to Republicans everywhere about the need, or lack thereof, to kiss the former president’s ring.

GOP officials and candidates are supposed to tremble in fear at the very idea of losing favor with him, because his all-powerful endorsement is the key to unlocking electoral success.

And the more GOP officials and candidates notice that the myth isn’t true, the less they’ll feel the need to sacrifice their dignity to satisfy the whims of a failed former one-term president whose endorsement means less than he likes to admit.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com